Positive Grace by Deb Haggerty

Deb’s Dozen: If Life Treats Us Well, We’re Fortunate to Find One True Love.

Eva Marie Everson is a Southern writer. She grew up in the South, lives in the South, talks Southern, and writes the way she talks. If you like the soft Southern drawl, the slower pace of life, and a whopping good story, you’ll love The One True Love of Alice-Ann. As I read the book, I could hear Eva Marie telling me the story—the way she accents words, the cadence of them speeding up and slowing down to draw me in. I read the book in one sitting because I had to know what happened to Alice-Ann!

The story opens on December 7, 1941—Alice-Ann’s birthday. She is so excited about the party she is being allowed to have. Alice-Ann has decided since this is her sixteenth birthday, and she is now a woman, she is going to declare her love for the young man she’s crushed on since she was twelve, Boyd MacKay or Mack. But life interferes—December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and life for everyone, even in a small southern Georgia town, changed forever. Her birthday is ruined and all everyone talks about is whether there will be war and who from their town will enlist. Finally allowed to have her party on December 19th, Alice-Ann succeeds in telling Mack her feelings—he’s enlisting, but asks her to write to him.

And life goes on. Alice-Ann gets a job at the bank in town to help out with the family finances. She and her best friend, Maeve, learn to live with the deprivations and rationing although life is a tad easier on Alice-Ann’s farm. We live the waiting and anticipation for letters and news; the dashed hopes and depression when letters don’t come. The town’s first casualty occurs, and then Maeve’s brother is severely injured and sent home. To help out her friend’s temporarily (they hope) blinded and handicapped brother, Alice-Ann goes each afternoon after work to chat and read to Carlton and share a Co-cola.

You’ll want to read Alice-Ann’s story—to experience with her the ups and downs of life in the South—to observe her mature into a young woman who cares for others. Eva Marie has written us the South during World War II. You’ll never find a better picture of life in a small, South Georgia town. And you’ll never be as entranced as you are by Alice-Ann—who may be fortunate enough to find her one true love. Four stars.

Eva Marie is a multi-talented, multi-awarded author and the best of friends. I’ve watched her mature as a writer much as you’ll watch Alice-Ann mature into a wonderful young woman. She has written more than thirty novels including Five Brides, The Cedar Key Series, The Potluck Club series (with Linda Evans Shepherd), and others. She is the president of Word Weavers International, the director of the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference, mentors others in their writing journey’s, and speaks around the country. She and her husband, Dennis, live on a lakeshore in central Florida and are owned by their dachshund, Poods.

Tyndale House gave me a copy of The One True Love of Alice-AnnThe One True Love of Alice-Ann, but I was in no way obligated to write a favorable review.

Deb’s Dozen: A Missing Friend, A Blossoming Romance—Will Avery Tate Solve the Mystery?

Dani Pettrey is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have read every one of her books and blogged about most. Her Alaskan Courage series was sterling in every way. As a result, I’ve been greatly anticipating her books in her second series, Chesapeake Valor. The first book, Cold Shot, met my expectations (http://bit.ly/1jYDQvT) as you can read on my December 14, 2015, posting.

All that to say I was a bit disappointed in Still Life, the second book in the series. Not with the story, which was eerie and dark and entertaining, but with the characters. I was totally confused at the profusion of characters and who belonged with whom. Dani’s books involve mystery and romance, and Still Life was definitely a mystery. I would suggest a Cast of Characters at the beginning of each of these novels unless the back story from proceeding books is better explained. I also thought the start was a bit slow.

Still Life focuses on Avery Tate, a crime-scene photographer who has been blacklisted by the Baltimore photographic community after one of her pictures proved a rape had occurred. She goes to a gallery showing in support of bestie from her childhood, Skylar, but Skylar never shows up. Worse yet, Gerard, the photographer with the show, denies the picture of Skylar was taken by him—and Avery is frightened as the picture makes Skylar look dead.

Taking the picture to secure any evidence, Avery calls Parker Mitchell, the crime-scene analyst she had worked with—and fallen in love with—six months before. Parker is the best and comes immediately to her aid. Avery, Parker, and his friends in law enforcement start trying to figure out the case and what has happened to Skylar. Here’s where the confusion begins because the story assumes we know the characters and their pasts. In addition to the mystery about Skylar, there’s a terrorist, illegally transported refugees, and blackmail involved—the different sets of characters handle the different sub-plots. And there are twists and turns and linkages aplenty.

Eventually, I ignored the subplots and concentrated on Avery and Parker and their blossoming feelings for each other—Parker is hung up on an old girlfriend, who had been murdered, and isn’t sure he can give his total love and allegiance to another. Avery is hung up on her past, even though she’s become a Christian and knows her past has been forgiven. Their story matures and I found them both sympathetic and real characters. The other characters—not so much. Yet, I’ll recommend Still Life IF you read Cold Shot first. This is not a series where the books can stand alone, and for that reason, three and a half stars.

Dani Pettrey writes inspirational romantic suspense and has been honored with several awards for books in her Alaskan Courage series: the Daphne DuMaurier Award, two HOLT medallions, two National Reader’s Choice Awards among others. She and her husband reside in Maryland where they enjoy time with their two daughters, a son-in-law, and two adorable grandsons. More info is available at danipettrey.com.

Bethany House, a Division of Baker books, gave me a complimentary copy of Still Life, but I was in no way obligated to write a favorable review.